Possibilities
by katiekayx
Summary: "'There's no place else for me to be' He said, smiling at her. Of course there wasn't. Where would he go when she was here, potentially dying? It didn't matter what the situation was. If her life was in danger, he would be there. Always."


If you knew Lincoln Lee, you'd know that he's usually cool, calm, and collected. It was his job. You can't be head of the Fringe Division, seeing what he sees all the time, and wear your emotions on your sleeve. You just can't.

But now, here, in China Town, for Christ sakes, he was damned if he was going to keep his cool. Because he was scared, and he couldn't hide that. Not about this. Forget the fact that he was torn up inside because Olivia was having a child that wasn't his, forget that he had to listen to Secretary Bishop tell him that not only was she gone for a few months, but while she was, she had slept with his son. Forget all of that.

All he was thinking about was that he could lose her. That her mother said that she wouldn't make it through delivery. He had never felt so helpless in his entire life. And when she looked at him, her green eyes wide with pain, and asked him if he had talked to her mother, he knew he couldn't lie to her. Not about this. Not when he was so scared and needed her to know that he was scared.

He just stared at her. He felt his bottom lip tremble, and he knew that she understood. Her head fell to one side and she stared at the ceiling, before looking back at him. She was scared. He could see it in her eyes. He didn't have too much time to think about it before she was clutching his hand and his shoulder and writhing in pain.

"Just squeeze my hand, as tight as you need to." He heard himself say. It was second nature. You have to reassure people in scary/life threatening situations. He had learned that from Broyles and from all his time in Fringe Division. He needed to reassure her. "Look at me." He said, until she made eye contact with him, her breathing growing shallow. "You just look at me. You don't think about an hour from now. You don't think about a minute. We're gonna focus on this moment, okay? It's you and me."

"God, I'm scared." She said, before burying her head in his chest. He started to tear up more fiercely, and was struggling to keep the tears at bay. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up.

Henry was talking to her now, telling her something about putting her chin to her chest, that it would help. She looked up at him again, gasping. "Promise me you won't leave until this is over." She said, and he let out a laugh.

"There's no place else for me to be!" He said, smiling at her. Of course there wasn't. Where would he go when she was here, potentially dying? It didn't matter what the situation was. If her life was in danger, he would be there. Always. He had told himself that a long time ago. He didn't have much choice in the matter. His heart was calling the shots on this one.

She was crying now, moaning in pain, and he finally let his guard down. He didn't need to be head of the Fringe Division around her. Not now, not while he was watching her give birth and use all the strength she had in her body to do so. He needed to be strong too. "You're doing good, you're doing real good." He said to her, but he wasn't sure if she even registered what he was saying. She was in so much pain, and his heart broke watching her.

Something shifted inside him when he realized that she was close to giving birth to this baby. She didn't have much time left. Suddenly everything he never said to her flashed in his mind, and he broke down. The tears were flowing now, and there was no stopping them. Not if he wanted to, could he have hidden his emotions this time. She glanced up at him once more, seeking the reassurance she so desperately needed. He knew he couldn't give her that. But he needed her to know. He needed her to know how much she meant to him, before he never had a chance.

"I love you." He said softly, and she looked at him with wide eyes, before squeezing them tight due to pain. He wasn't expecting a reaction. He wanted her to know. She didn't love him, he didn't think. She might, but he didn't have his hopes high. She was having another man's baby. If she loved him… well if she loved him, he'd never know.

"Promise me you'll save the baby." She said, and he started crying all over again.

"Liv…" His voice cracked. How could she ask that of him? He loved her. He'd do anything for her. But this… How could he live in a world that she wasn't a part of? What would be the point of it?

"Promise me." She said, stronger now. He knew she loved this baby. He knew it. Any mother would. He wanted her to be happy if she was going to die. He wanted to promise her.

"I promise." He said, his voice cracking again. He pulled her closer to his body and tightened his grip on her. This shouldn't be happening like this. She shouldn't be dying like this. He always knew it'd be in a weird place, in some strange situation, because of their jobs. But she shouldn't be dying before him. She should die when she's old, and when she's lived her life. Not now, not here, not like this. He would die for her. He knew that, without a doubt, if her life was threatened, he'd do anything he could to change that, even if it meant him dying instead. Now everything was going wrong, and he was helpless to stop it.

Henry was talking again, the baby was here. Lincoln let out a laugh of relief, as the tears still poured down his face. He started rocking Olivia back and forth. "You hear that, Liv?" He said, "He's here!" He laughed again, and looked down at Olivia, who he hadn't realized had gone limp in his arms.

He could have sworn his heart stopped. "… Liv?" He asked quietly, stupidly. He knew she wouldn't answer. _No, no, no…_ Repeated over and over in his head as he started to sob again. Henry was quiet, and Lincoln never took his eyes off of Olivia's face. He couldn't. Time seemed to slow down. She was gone. He loved her, came to terms with the fact that he loved her, and now she was gone.

He looked back at the baby crying in Henry's arms, and looked back at Olivia. "He made it." He said, through his tears, and hugged her body closer to his. His heart felt like it was cracking in half. He didn't know how he was going to go to work tomorrow, or the next day, or any day. Not without her.

Then he heard it. She gasped, and he looked down, seeing her green eyes flutter open. He let out an incredulous laugh of relief, and saw Henry smile and let out a breath. Henry reached out and put the baby on Olivia's lap. She looked up at Lincoln, dazed, her eyes wide, as if she couldn't believe that this was real. "You have a son!" Lincoln said, laughing, and smiling. He thought he'd never stop.

She was alive. She was alive, and he loved her.

His heart was still pounding, the adrenaline still fresh from the previous day. He was outside Olivia's hospital room, part of him was terrified to go in there. It was one thing to tell her how he felt in the spur of the moment. She needed to know. But now he had to act like he never said it, according to how she was acting.

He understood that she had other things to worry about, clearly. But she never acknowledged it, not even once. Not when he demanded that he go in the ambulance with her to the hospital, not when he wouldn't let the paramedics carry her in, so that he could. He didn't trust anyone around her, not after he almost lost her. He couldn't let that happen again.

He had flowers. It was stupid and he hated having flowers in his hand. He had never bought flowers for a girl, ever. He supposed it was the right thing to do in this situation. Now all he had to do was get the courage to go in there and see her.

"Are you going to stand out there all day?" He jumped when he heard her voice, followed by her throaty laugh.

He smirked and rolled his eyes, trying to regain what dignity he had left as he walked in the room. "I was just giving you your privacy." He said, putting the flowers behind his back.

"By staring at me through the window? Please." She said, and he wanted to laugh. She was acting so normal, you'd never guess that she nearly died giving birth to a son, whose father was not only their boss's son, but lived in another universe.

"So I'm nervous. So what?"

"Why are you nervous?" She asked, her eyes narrowing. She was analyzing him. He recognized the signs, and he didn't even bother trying to put his walls back up, because she had seen him when he had completely broken down. Completely.

"You've seen me cry. You could use it against me." He said, smirking at her.

"C'mon. Would I do that?" She asked, her smile telling another story.

"Yes, yes you would." He said, scratching his neck as an awkward silence settled over them. "So… has Charlie stopped by?"

Olivia eyed him for a minute, and he looked down at the floor. "Yeah, he has. He was here this morning. He was too scared to hold the baby, though." She laughed.

"Where is the little guy?" Lincoln asked, looking back up at her.

"The nurse took him for a blood test. Should be back any minute."

"What are they testing for?" His voice rose at least two octaves, as a menagerie of horrible images and scenarios flashed through his mind.

"Relax," Olivia soothed, "It's just standard testing that newborns need. I'm surprised you're so jumpy, I'm the one that went through an entire pregnancy in hours."

"Sorry… I'm just protective, I guess."

"I know you are." Olivia said quietly, looking down at her hands. "I never got the chance to thank you, you know."

"You don't have to thank me." Lincoln said, and he meant it. He was her partner, it was his job to take care of her. Even though he knew it was more than that, he still wanted her to be able to rely on him.

"I do though. Lincoln, you didn't just help me out of a tricky situation. This is different. This is different than what we've been through before as partners."

Lincoln swallowed. "I did what I had to do, Liv. I did what I had to do to make sure you were safe. To make sure you were _both_ safe."

As if on cue, a nurse came in the room, with a bundle of blankets that Lincoln could only assume was the baby in her arms. She handed the bundle to Olivia, who had a smile so large painted on her face that Lincoln couldn't help but smile too.

The nurse left and Lincoln scratched his head for a minute, contemplating if Olivia would want the room to herself now that the baby was back.

"I wanted to name him after you." She said quietly, and Lincoln almost fell over.

"What? Are you… are you sure?" He asked, and she gestured for him to sit next to her. He placed the flowers he had long forgotten about on a table and quickly pulled a chair up to her bed.

"He sort of looks like you, don't you think?" She asked him softly, and Lincoln scoffed. He looked nothing like him. Blue eyes, and blonde hair. He was all Liv, except for the eyes. Lincoln's chest clenched when he realized that the Secretary's son must have blue eyes.

"I think he's beautiful though," he said to her, "even though he really doesn't look like me, Liv."

Their faces were very close now, both of them peering at the baby. "Did you mean what you said to me? In the shop in China Town?" Olivia asked him tentatively, and noticed when Lincoln flinched. "If you meant it platonically, it's fine, I just-"

"I didn't." He said quickly, and had to backtrack once he saw a hurt look flash across her face, "I didn't mean it platonically." He corrected, and couldn't bear to meet her eyes. He didn't want to see the fact that she didn't love him back in them.

She surprised them both by touching his face lightly, as they were still only inches apart. He lifted his eyes to meet hers finally, and wished he hadn't. There was an unidentifiable look in her eyes, and he was scared to find out what it meant. He decided to man up and make up for all the crying he did the day before and be honest with her. "Liv…" he let out a breath and held the hand that was on his cheek, "I have loved you probably since the day I met you. I never let myself think about you really, because you were my partner, and you had a boyfriend. But yesterday… God, Liv. You were going to die. I thought you were going to _die. _I was so scared that you were going to leave this planet not knowing how much you meant to me, how much you will always, always mean to me." He looked down at the baby again, not wanting to see the look on her face after his confession.

"My baby needs a father." She said, and Lincoln's eyes snapped back to hers. "I don't want him to grow up not having a father. Obviously his father isn't a choice. I mean, I don't know what Bishop has planned, but… I don't want to think about it."

"What are you saying?" Lincoln asked, staring into her eyes, an intense look written across his face.

"I always thought you'd be great with kids." She said, grinning at him. He couldn't help but let out a small laugh and grin back at her, looking at the baby once more.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course! Lincoln, I wouldn't trust anyone else to help me raise my child."

"I'd hope not, not all of them were there when the little guy was actually born…" He joked, and looked back up at her face. "Thank you."

She smiled, a little lopsided smile that made his heart flip and made him doubt his sanity for a few moments. "No, thank you, Linc. I can't begin to thank you for everything you did back there."

"I'll always be here for you, Liv. You can count on me."

"I know." She said softly, and he was vaguely aware that their faces were slowly becoming closer. He didn't want to breathe, he didn't want to move, he didn't want to do anything that might break the trance that they were both in.

Slowly, their lips connected, and when she didn't pull away from him after a few seconds, he let out a sigh of relief and threaded his hand in her hair, pulling her closer. He let out every pent up emotion that he had ever kept inside of him when it came to her, and hoped she could tell. He already told her he loved her, but he needed her to know that these things he was feeling… well, they weren't going away.

She opened her mouth under his, and sighed softly, and it was the most beautiful thing Lincoln had ever heard, and she was touching his face and he couldn't catch his breath. It was like a rollercoaster, except he wasn't moving. His left hand moved to her waist, and he pulled her even closer to him, being careful of the baby, before he pulled away, not trusting himself to keep this PG rated. They were in a hospital, after all.

He didn't let go of her, and she didn't let go of him either, instead she buried her head in his chest, and it was the cutest thing he'd ever seen. She was smiling, and so was he, and he couldn't help himself. "Wow." He said quietly, and she nodded, still not saying anything. "Liv…" He prodded gently. He didn't want to push her. She had been through so much lately, but he needed her to say something, anything to make him not regret what just happened.

"We have to go slow, Linc." She said, and he looked at her with confusion. "If we're going to do this… you and me… we have to go slow. I can't stand the thought of losing you, either."

Lincoln tried really hard to hold back the grin that threatened to take over, but he couldn't help it. "So this means you're actually going to do what I say now? Now that you're 'with' the boss?" He teased, poking her side.

"Hell no!" She said, laughing. "I'm not going to change just because you kissed me."

"You kissed me!" He laughed incredulously.

"Absolutely not. You think I'm irresistible, it had nothing to do with me." She grinned at him, and the two of them went back and forth for the next few minutes, the baby finally asleep between them, finally feeling like there was a little bit of possibility and hope that could come out of this whole situation.


End file.
